Tim,

This is a belated thank you for your response.

Yes, I have accepted Christ as my Saviour so that part is taken care
of. Yes, I do pray. Sometimes though, it seems as if I am just
talking into thin air, to be honest.

When I mentioned a one hour drive, that is a best-case scenario. My
mom lives with my sister about 2.5 hours away from me, so it is
usually a 5-hour round trip to do anything for mom . The only time is
is a 2-hour round-trip is when mom is staying temporarily at her
house which is an hour away from me.

Trying to reason with my sister and mom that mom belongs in a care
facility has been fruitless.

It has finally come down to my doctor putting me out on medical for
depression and some physical side-effects of all the stress I am
going through. If nothing else, I'll make myself get to the gym so I
can deal positively with all the mountains of stress in my life.

Dave





--- In bodybuilderslord@yahoogroups.com, "Tim" <tm_files@...> wrote:
>
> Dave, first I admire you for helping your mother. You are committed
> to her needs. That is an inspiration to all of us with older
parents.
> I know how hard it is. Both of my parents are in their eighties and
> need support.
>
> It's not an hour drive, but thirty minutes one way takes up a lot
of
> my family's time. Actually, we try to arrange our visits around
> errands that we normally run. If we buy groceries we do it on the
> west side so we can swing by after our shopping. Usually we bring
ice
> cream or another treat along the way for the visit. And Dave, you
and
> I do it because we love them don't we. I thank God my parents were
> led to a great care facility. They have an apartment now but
> eventually will probably have to transfer to the nursing part of
the
> center.
>
> As far as being stressed out and overwhelmed join the club. I'll
pray
> for you if you pray for me on THAT one! Actually, I've decided to
let
> most of my plants in the yard die off. Living in Phoenix you have
to
> water all the time. I can't keep up with everything so I decided to
> let the bushes go. I'll keep the trees going. And the house is
> falling apart but God told me it's just a house. As long as we have
a
> roof and it's semi-clean I dont' have to be a "Mr. Clean." In fact
I
> told my wife Susan we need to have some people over so we'll have
to
> clean up the house.
>
> Finally, Dave God isn't up in the attic, the sky, or in the
heavenly
> realm. God is IN YOU, by His Holy Spirit. You see Christ, before He
> left this earth, said His people will receive a COMFORTER! Dave,
have
> you accepted Christ and what He did for you by dying on the cross
to
> forgive you of your sins and make you right before His Heavenly
> Father? If so, God has given you the Holy Spirit as a "translator"
> or "go-between" with you and God. The Holy Spirit ministers to you.
> you draw closer to Him and He draws closer to you.
>
> God is with you. It's like walking through the day with a friend.
> Your "Friend" (Holy Father) and you are talking to each other
> constantly all day. You laugh, make jokes, possibly cry, or even
get
> upset and angry. It's a relationship. The next time you take the
> drive to your mother understand that God, through the Holy Spirit,
is
> sitting in the seat next to you in your car. I have had many a
> conversation with Him during my hour drive to work each day.
> The more you talk, eventually He'll start talking bsck through the
> Bible, or from people like me. So you see Dave God wanted me to
type
> this to you. I have the faith and trust to know that my response to
> you might help.
>
> And by praying for you I ask God to answer my prayer for you in
your
> life.
>
> You and your family are on my list Dave.
>
> Your brother in Christ,
>
> Tim
> --- In bodybuilderslord@yahoogroups.com, "Dave" <Guy4ChristinMI@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hey Guys!
> >
> > I'll just spill my guts here since I am pretty much at wits'end
> about
> > my situation.
> >
> > I am stressed out, overwhelmed , too busy for my own good and
there
> is
> > nothing I can cut to lessen my load. The biggest thing is that
mom
> is
> > in bad shape and losing ground as time passes. I do what I can
for
> her
> > however anything I do for her entails a minimum 1-hour drive one
> way.
> >
> > I have my job, a house I try to keep up single-handedly and get
no
> help
> > whatsoever.
> >
> > As a result of being so overwhelmed, I haven't been to the gym in
> > months. I am very depressed over that also!
> >
> > I need help, I need balance , I need stress relief. I pray about
> this
> > all the time and it seems my prayers just hit the ceiling and
then
> fall
> > to the floor.
> >
> > I am asking your help as I have done all I can.
> >
> > Dave
> >
>